Share This Story!

Republicans take State Senate, House races for Livingston County

All three Republican candidates have strong leads in races for the 22nd State Senate seat, and seats in the 42ndand 47th State House of Representatives districts, with more than 80% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial results.

The nationwide Democratic optimism to take back seats across government – known as a "Blue Wave" – didn't materialize in the three state legislative seats that represent Livingston County.

All three Republican candidates in races for the 22nd State Senate seat, and seats in the 42ndand 47th State House of Representatives districts, easily outpaced their challengers.

22nd State Senate seat

Republican Lana Theis, 53, from Brighton, won 56% of the vote, while Democrat Adam Dreher, 34, from Oceola Township, took 42%, and Eric Borregard, 62, 2%, according to unofficial results.

Theis, who currently represents the 42nd District in the state House, cited hard work as a main reason for winning the seat and holding off Dreher to maintain Republican control of the seat.

"I think we are represent the community well and are listening to the community and what they want to see us do and we're proud to do that," Theis said. "We work really hard. I've worked really hard to connect with the community. They continue to vote for good representation and we're working hard to provide that."

The seat covers all of Livingston County and portions of Washtenaw County. It is currently held by Senator Joe Hune, R-Fowlerville, who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election.

"I certainly think with the Livingston County Democrats, our party has constantly been getting more and more of a following," Dreher said.

The "Blue Wave" wasn't something that the county's Democratic party were expecting to reach Livingston County, he said, given the history of Republican control, even at the county commission level.

"Really, what our focus was on was making sure our message got out there and with the hopes of changing some minds, and getting people to think about issues as opposed to party," Dreher said.

42nd State House seat

Republican Ann Bollin, 58, the long-time Brighton Township clerk, won 57% of the vote in her bid to replace Theis in the state House, according to unofficial results showing 95% of precincts reporting.

A call to Bollin Tuesday evening was not immediately returned.

Democrat Mona Shand, 45, trailed behind with 38% of the vote for the seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, which covers the townships of Genoa, Green Oak, Hamburg, Putnam and Brighton, as well as Brighton and Pinckney.

A call to Shand Tuesday evening was not immediately returned.

47th State House seat

The seat's incumbent, Fowlerville Republican Hank Vaupel, 74, won the seat with 63% of the vote with just a handful of precincts not yet reported.

Howell Democrat Colleen Turk, 37, won 32% of the vote.

Vaupel could not immediately be reached Tuesday evening.

Vaupel has held the seat since 2014, and sought the last state House term he is eligible for. He was uncontested in the August primary.

“I want to thank all our supporters and our team for making this race such a strong one, and I'd like to congratulate Hank Vaupel on his win," Turk said in an email. "Running to represent the 47th District while working a full-time job was not easy, but getting out into the community and making face-to-face connections with voters was so worth it. I look forward to continuing to build connections among community members and educating citizens on the truth about what's happening in our government.”

The district represents voters in the Village of Fowlerville, townships of Conway, Cohoctah, Deerfield, Hartland, Howell, Handy, Iosco, Unadilla, Oceola, Marion and Tyrone; and the city of Howell and part of the city of Fenton.

Contact Livingston Daily reporter Sean Bradley at 517-552-2860 or at spbradley@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on Twitter @SbradleyLD.